Module SGIA3441: ELECTIONS AND BRITISH POLITICS

Department: Government and International Affairs

SGIA3441: ELECTIONS AND BRITISH POLITICS

Prerequisites

• Any Level 2 SGIA module

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To provide students with a detailed understanding of theoretical debates about the nature electoral behaviour.
• To develop students’ knowledge of the central empirical features of British electoral behaviour.
• To equip students with the analytical tools necessary to relate evidence to arguments about electoral behaviour using both the existing literature and primary data.

Content

• The issue of how we should understand electoral behaviour has long been established as a core question in the study of politics. This module will examine the major debates about electoral behaviour in Britain. It will provide students with a through grounding in the theoretical and empirical debates about electoral behaviour. It will also look at the major sources of evidence used in the study of British elections. The module will enable students to engage with existing literature and primary qualitative and/or quantitative evidence to draw practical insights concerning elections in Britain. Amongst the questions the module will address as such things as:
• The significance of ‘bias’ in British electoral system.
• The extent and consequences of inequalities in political participation.
• The utility of rival models of electoral behaviour.
• The place of class voting in understanding British electoral behaviour.
• The role of policy platforms and ideology in British elections.
• The impact of campaigning activity on elections.
• The significance of geography in British elections.

Learning Outcomes

• On completion of the module students will gain knowledge of:
• The dynamics British electoral behaviour.
• The alternative uses of different sources of evidence available to analyse electoral behaviour.
• The logics of enquiry used in electoral analysis.
• Theoretical and empirical debates in British electoral studies.

• On completion of the module students will be able to:
• Accurately and effectively describe alternative theoretical positions.
• Use empirical material to support argumentation.
• Apply frameworks from theoretical debates to structure detailed empirical discussion.
• Evaluate rival theories and interpretations with reference to factual evidence.

• Retrieve and utilize primary and secondary resources that they have been directed to.
• Find appropriate secondary resources beyond those they have been directed to.
• Assess the suitability and quality of resources for research purposes.
• Engage in independent thought in evaluating existing research.
• Demonstrate analytical skills which will establish and defend an intellectual position in response to essay questions, showing engagement with and evaluation of theoretical and conceptual material.
• Draw practical insights from secondary literature and primary evidence.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Students will develop their understanding of substantive debates in electoral analysis through a series of 10 two-hour seminars. These seminars will be based around student-led class discussion. The two hour format is designed to provide the students with sufficient time to explore theoretical and empirical issues in detail. The seminars will be supplemented by two briefing document summative support sessions (module-specific office hours).
• The summative assessment consists of two components. The first is a 2000 word non-academic briefing document which will account for 40 per cent of the final mark for the module. In this students will be asked to produce a briefing document for a non-academic audience of one of four types: a briefing on a particular constituency for a prospective electoral candidate; a briefing for a national party regarding electoral consequences of potential national policy platforms; a briefing for an not-for-profit organisation on electoral inequalities in political participation; an alternative briefing topic devised by the student with guidance and approval from the module convenor. Students will choose which type of briefing document they will produce. This task will assess student’s ability to draw practical insights from existing academic research and qualitative and quantitative primary evidence, and to articulate these insights succinctly for a practitioner (as opposed to academic) audience. The second assessment component is a 3000-word essay which will account for 60 per cent of the final marks. This will test students’ knowledge of the dynamics of electoral behaviour, alternative sources of evidence, the logics of enquiry in electoral research, and of empirical and theoretical debates in electoral research. It will also test students’ ability to: describe theoretical positions, use the analysis of empirical material to support arguments, apply frameworks to support discussion, evaluate theories with respect to empirical evidence, retrieve and utilize secondary resources beyond those they have been directed to and assess the suitability of resources for research purposes.
• The formative assessment will consist of a plan for the briefing document of up to 1,000 words in length. This will allow students an opportunity to develop their briefing document plans and to obtain feedback on these plans as students may not have had the opportunity to undertake this form of assessment previously in their studies.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

The formative assessment will consist of a plan for the briefing document of up to 1,000 words in length.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University